Indian equities posted gains on Tuesday, recovering after four consecutive sessions of declines, driven by strategic bargain hunting across various sectors and favorable consumer price inflation data. Post-market data from the National Statistical Office on Monday indicated a slight easing of consumer price inflation to 5.22% in December, down from 5.48% in November, with expectations pegged at 5.3%.
In contrast, India's wholesale price inflation accelerated to its highest point in six months, according to preliminary figures from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, released Tuesday. The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) rose 2.37% year-over-year in December, surpassing the 1.89% rise in September, and economists had anticipated an increase to 2.3%.
The BSE Sensex benchmark index surged to 76,835.61 during intraday trading, gaining over 500 points, and concluded the day up by 169.92 points or 0.22% at 76,499.63. Concurrently, the broader Nifty50 index from the National Stock Exchange closed higher by 90.10 points or 0.39% at 23,176.05, just shy of 90 points from its peak during the trading session.
Significant upward movements were observed in sectors such as banking, automotive, metals, and pharmaceuticals. Adani Ports led with an approximate 4.8% rise, followed by NTPC with 4.2% and Tata Steel with 3.3%. Other notable performers included Zomato, Tata Motors, Bajaj Finance, State Bank of India, Bajaj Finserv, IndusInd Bank, and Maruti Suzuki, all advancing between 2% and 3%. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Power Grid Corporation were also among the key gainers.
Adani Enterprises surged by more than 7%, leading the Nifty gainers, while Shriram Finance, NTPC, Hindalco, and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) each advanced by 4% to 5%. ONGC, Coal India, Eicher Motors, SBI Life, HeroMotoCorp, and Grasim Industries also saw substantial gains.
Conversely, HCL Technologies plummeted 8.6% following a reported increase in consolidated net profit for the third quarter. Despite this, the company's revenue forecast for the current fiscal year fell below market expectations. The IT giant posted a consolidated net profit of ₹4,590 crore for the third quarter, up from ₹4,235 crore in the previous quarter.
Meanwhile, Hindustan Unilever saw a decline of about 3.5%, and Titan Industries, Tata Consultancy Services, UltraTech Cement, and Infosys experienced losses ranging from 1.1% to 1.4%.
